Kharmful Charms of Daniil Kharms

*originally published on The Local Looking Glass at http://bit.ly/1m2KMSd* When I was drawn to what I was seeing in The Kharmful Charms of Daniil Kharms by ARTEL, I was disturbed but then later delighted with myself. The show, directed by Olya Petrakova, runs at Schkapf as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival this year. Violence, gore, fear, terror—all of these were present in heaps. But oh, the whimsy, the color, the style with which they were illustrated…it was like watching the doom of humankind painted before your eyes in lavish textures and whimsical cartoon. It is at this point in a performance review that you will usually find some kind of plot summary, but alas (or perhaps hallelujah), Kharmful Charms outlays no such easily... full review

The Kharmful Charms of Daniil Kharms By Brian Sonia-Wallace *This review first appeared on ArtsBeatLA.com* If this production were to play a verb, it would be, “to tickle the audience”. An intricate European clown show descending into punk chaos, this production is a parade of ever-sillier characters marinating in the irrationality of their early 20th Century Russian world. I did want to know more about the life and times of Daniil Kharms, the absurdist short story author whose stories the play is based on, and felt that an understanding of where he was writing from would deepen my appreciation of the piece. As much as I enjoyed the production, I felt like I must have missed out on a lot from lack of context. The show is at its stronges... full review